Premiere: Keynes Woods - Water In The City

Photo provided by an ANTHEM A&R Rep

We’ve been blessed with great talent coming out of Canada. The primary city that is the gift that keeps on giving, is Toronto. With the likes of Drake, Tory Lanez, and The Weeknd, artists from neighboring cities are eager to show their talent as well.

The Kinshasa-born rapper Keynes Woods is one of many that has taken his talents to the home of the Raptors. Woods is originally from Ottawa, Ontario, and gained notoriety for his hard-hitting performance of his single, “Threat”, which was featured on COLORS earlier this year. Standing out amongst his peers is something he’s used to doing. He grew up in a musical household where he found his voice in rap music and began to write his own lyrics at the age of sixteen.

Today, we’re excited to premiere a brand new single “Water In The City” featuring Canadian songstress, Elissa Mielke. The message shines through as Keynes gives us a walk through his feelings about his hometown. “Dead-end streets, dried up wells, business lacking, clientele. Smiling faces, battered souls, you’re not happy, I can tell.", he said.

People often live on a boulevard of broken dreams because of fear to leave. It seems that one would rather live a facade than seek happiness. Yes, change can be scary but in order to truly live, we must be willing to take a risk. Through the lyrics of the song, you get the idea that Keynes was unhappy with his past situation and that his intuition was telling him that there were greater opportunities out there for him.

The song is said to be inspired by the movie “La Vie Est Belle Papa Wemba,” one of Keynes favorites movies. La vie est Belle translated to “Life is Beautiful,” is about Papa Wemba (legendary African musician) who moved from his village to the big city.

Join Woods on his journey by listening to Water In The City, which is now on all streaming platforms.